Universities Postpone Midterm Exams in Wake of the Election

Following Donald Trump's shocking win, students at several universities requested that professors postpone the midterm exams that had been scheduled for Wednesday.

"I ask, respectfully, but also urgently, that you consider postponing the midterm for another day," wrote Duke University sophomore Michael Gulcicek, according to the school's student newspaper, the Chronicle. "I do not think it is fair to expect students to learn and review material as they consider the future of their country and what electing either candidate could mean for their safety, their identity."

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Gulcicek posted the above text on a Duke student Facebook page before the election was called, suggesting that students who had exams on Wednesday send it to their professors. Gulcicek was unsuccessful in getting his statistics exam postponed; however, "his professor allowed students to not take the midterm—with the caveat that if they did not take it, the final would be weighted a larger percentage of their grade."

"I know a lot of you guys are emotionally exhausted after tonight—I am, too," wrote Columbia computer science professor Jessica Ouyang in an email to students, according to the SpectatorSpectator. "Let's take the weekend to get ourselves back to normal."